WSU Impact:
Cougs Supporting Cougs Through Legislative Action
Washington State University was founded with the goal of making education more accessible and more integrated with the greater community. At WSU Impact, we take that mission seriously. Together, the alumni, students, educators, and community members, WSU Impact advocates for funding and support from our lawmakers in Olympia.
We are boosters, backers, and above all else, believers in WSU’s service mission. We invite you to join us — with this interactive civic advocacy network, we can pave the way for future generations of Cougs.
Ready to make a difference?
Contact your representatives about our
2021 legislative priorities
2020 Legislative Successes
POLICY:
Reauthorizing the Joint Center for Aerospace Technology Innovation
WSU prioritized a reauthorization of the Joint Center for Aerospace Technology Innovation. A bill passed by the Legislature and sent to the governor will extend its sunset date from 2020 to 2030. Established in 2012, JCATI was appropriated $3 million in the biennial budget to fund seed grants for research in the aerospace industry at state institutions of higher education. About $1.2 million of those funds, on average, have funded research projects at WSU.
OPERATING BUDGET:
Washington State Soil Health Initiative
Successfully funded in the operating budget was the Soil Health Initiative, a multi-agency research and extension initiative between WSU, the state Department of Agriculture and the state Conservation Commission. Legislation was passed in tandem with the funding in the operating budget that formally establishes the initiative to develop new strategies to improve soil across the state and get those strategies into the hands of growers
CAPITAL BUDGET:
Washington State University Vancouver Life Sciences Building
$4 million of the state’s supplemental capital budget in the capital budget will go towards designing the Life Science Building at WSU Vancouver. Just over half of the student body at WSU Vancouver is comprised of first-generation college students. The building will provide much needed teaching and research space, so that this campus can continue to enhance educational attainment in Southwest Washington, alongside its regional educational partners.